Research: Food safety is the top concern of Chinese seafood consumers!

The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) recently conducted a survey of nearly 3,000 consumers in China to better understand consumer purchasing decisions and the impact and awareness of the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) label.

A total of 2,698 consumers in 31 provinces were surveyed, with 91% of respondents under the age of 40. About 90 percent of respondents said they believe seafood is a better choice than red meat and intend to increase their seafood consumption. The study also found that Millennials have the highest seafood consumption of any age group, with 53 percent consuming seafood at least once a week.

When asked which factors most influence their decision to purchase seafood, the sanitation of the processing facility (56%) and the environmental or food safety of the seafood production (51%) ranked second and third, respectively, behind only price (65%). In addition, 84 percent of consumers said that certificates and test reports related to food safety could convince them to purchase seafood products.

The study also found that BAP labeling has a significant impact on consumers' decisions to purchase seafood, with 62 percent of consumers saying they are more likely to purchase products with the BAP label.

“Demand for guaranteed seafood is growing around the world, including in China. Chinese consumers want to feel confident when buying seafood and the results of this survey show that the BAP program is a perfect fit for the Chinese market because our program covers the most important issue to them, which is clearly food safety. Because our program is comprehensive and covers what we call the four pillars of food safety, environmental responsibility, social welfare and animal health, it is really well suited to markets around the world where consumers have different priorities." said Steve Hart, vice president of market development for GSA.